On the edge of the desert in the Trans Pecos region of south west Texas lies a jewel we know as the Devils River. Primarily a spring fed river, the waters are clear and cold year round and hold trophy largemouth and the best smallmouth fishing in the state. The river is rough and unforgiving but if you are willing to tough it out, it can be one of the most rewarding river fishing experiences of your life. People are drawn from all over the United States by the beauty and solitude provided by this unique oasis. The Devils is the only undamed river in Texas but it only runs 60 miles before meeting with the Pecos and Rio Grande rivers above lake Amistad, on the Texas/Mexico border.

Three friends and I ran about 25 miles of the Devils last week with two Coosa’s and one canoe, we camped three nights and fished as much as possible. I have spent more days on the Devils than any other single river and overall, this was the best fishing I have ever seen. Two of my three friends had done the river twice and the other was a newbie. All three of these guys had never caught a smallmouth but we fixed that problem real quick on this trip! At the end of the trip we had four smallmouth over three pounds, including one trophy smallmouth over four pounds, and about the same number of largemouth over three pounds.

In the ultra clear waters of the Devils, I find that the best bait to use is a Texas rigged Zoom Ultra-Vibe Speed Craw in green pumpkin color. I like to use Seagar Red Label 100% Flourocarbon line in 12 lb test. I have not had any problems with snapping my line at the knot and I feel like in the clear water, the flouro is the best option for line invisibility.

Dolan Falls, a 12 foot waterfall, is one of the most famous attractions of the Devils. The whole river pinches down to two chutes, one that is two feet wide and one chute that is five feet wide. It’s a pretty awesome sight and one of these days, I’d like to get some of the JK white water team down there to run it! Other than Dolan, there are two class three rapids, the Indian Creek rapid and the Three Tier Falls rapid. I was very pleased with how the Coosa handled the rapids, especially since we were loaded down with three nights worth of food and camping gear. It was a great time on the river and the Devils Rewards were plentiful, now I can’t wait to do it again!

Brady Sullivan